Ronnie O'Sullivan says 'I’m not the player I was' following International Championship win over Ali Carter
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Published 09/11/2023 at 19:11 GMT
Ronnie O’Sullivan is chasing a ranking title that has eluded him since lifting the World Championship at The Crucible in 2022. The world No. 1 advanced to the semi-finals of the International Championship on Thursday with a battling win over Ali Carter. Zhang Anda is his opponent in the last-four, and O'Sullivan is relishing the occasion in Tianjin, China.
O'Sullivan makes it through to semi-finals with win over Carter
Ronnie O’Sullivan has said he is not the player he was, and is relishing every victory as a consequence.
The 47-year-old advanced to his first ranking semi-final since the 2022 World Championship when battling to a 6-4 win over Ali Carter at the International Championship on Thursday.
With the other three semi-finalists - Jordan Brown, Tom Ford and his last-four opponent Zhang Anda - all outside the top 16 in the world, O’Sullivan is heavy favourite to pick up the title in China.
It was a scrappy affair against Carter - with O’Sullivan’s highest break being 60. The standard of play was well below what he produced earlier in the week in beating Ken Doherty, Mark Joyce, Jak Jones and Anthony McGill.
The play may have been patchy, but O’Sullivan is prepared to fight in a bid to keep the youngsters at bay.
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O'Sullivan clinches victory over Jones to progress at International Championship
“Each match I win nowadays is one of the best wins of my life, because I’m old,” O’Sullivan told World Snooker. “I’ve been around a long time.
“I’m not getting better and if anything I’m not the player I was. Players are all striving to achieve, young and hungry. It is harder now.
“Normally I would win tournaments quite easily and wouldn’t drop many frames even against the top players. It is tough now. I enjoy any win I get.
“Ali is one of the in-form players this season. He is the in-form player and I managed to beat him. So for me it is a great win.”
O’Sullivan will take on Zhang over two sessions on Saturday and although extremely popular, ‘The Rocket’ will likely play in front of a Chinese crowd cheering on a home favourite.
“Every occasion is a good one when I play, so it doesn’t matter who I am against really,” O’Sullivan said. “I’ve always had good crowds, every match I have played is a big one.
“People want to beat me and take me down. I’ve had to deal with that all of my life so I’ve never played a match which isn’t a big one.”
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